


Camp Birch Wood

by babthebroadwaygoldfish



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, M/M, Modern Era, im sorry i know it's overused
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-19 06:44:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17596418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babthebroadwaygoldfish/pseuds/babthebroadwaygoldfish
Summary: This summer was going to be different. He could feel it.





	Camp Birch Wood

It was June 1st, or if you were Jack Kelly, the best day of year. June 1st was when he got to go with his favorite people to his favorite place. Summer camp. 

With this in mind, Jack woke up at the ass-crack of dawn to pick up his friends in his beat-up minivan. Esmeralda, as the car had been lovingly dubbed for her horrible green color, had definitely seen better days. Jack refused to get rid of her, claiming she had “sentimental value”. This was currently what he was explaining to a skeptical Race.

“She’s been with me since high school, Racer, I’m not gonna get rid of her now,” he explained as they parked in front of Charlie’s apartment complex. “Besides, she’s still running, and she’s the only way you’re getting to camp, so shut it.” He honked the horn twice before Charlie made his way down to the front. Stepping out of the car, Jack grabbed his trunk and shoved it in the back of the car as Charlie hopped into the passenger seat.

“All I’m saying is that your car shouldn’t run on the hope that it will start.” Race said with an air of finality as they got back on the road. 

“Still trying to convince him to get a new car, Race?” Charlie asked from the front, laughing at Race’s curt nod. He shook his head as they passed through the surprisingly empty streets of New York at the early hours. “You two have the same conversation every year.” He said “You had it the first time we drove to camp, and you’ll probably have it the last time we drive to camp.” 

“If she even lasts that long,” Race mumbled under his breath. Jack shot him a look from his spot in the driver’s seat, glaring as Race stuck his tongue out at him. Turning back to face the road, he focused on driving, watching as the busy cityscape turned into suburbs and the suburbs turn into woods. 

 

Three hours later Jack turned down a small dirt road, smiling as they passed underneath the wooden sign reading “Camp Birch Wood” in faded white paint. He nudged the sleeping boy besides him to wake him up, laughing softly at the slight grunt he made. Charlie looked confused at first, but as soon as his eyes adjusted his face broke into a huge grin.

“Racetrack!” Charlie turned to Race excitedly but found that the boy was sleeping in the back seat “Racer, wake up were here!” he yelled at him, fully turning in his seat so he could grab his crutch from the back and use it to poke at Race. 

After a few good jabs, Race shot up from his seat only to get yanked back by his seat belt. He groaned, rubbing his eyes before smiling fondly as he looked out his window, a familiar warmth filling his chest as they passed the familiar cabins. 

Almost as soon as Jack parked the car in the staff parking lot on the far end of camp, he shot out of the car. Race ran to the back of the car to grab the trunks, hauling his and Charlie's out, before running down to the main road towards the front office. 

“You’re welcome for the ride!” Jack called after him sarcastically as he climbed out the car to let Charlie out on the other side. Charlie laughed as he hobbled out of the car. “Ya know they don’t call him Racer for nothing” he reminded Jack as the taller of the two grabbed his trunk out the back and locked up the car. 

Jack shook his head as they walked down the road that Race had just torn down. As the two of them made their way toward the front office, Jack took his time taking in the camp he hadn’t seen in a year but still knew like the back of his hand. 

The main road went down the center of the camp. On one side of the road were the cabins, big wooden two story buildings where the campers stayed. On the others side stood the mess hall, the theatre, and front office. At the end of the main road the dirt path opened up into a field, with Lake Larkin on the other side.

Turning up a smaller road towards the front office, Jack looked around to see that Specs, the head counselor, and Mush, head of Birch Cabin, had already arrived. Mush and Race were playing a game of speed with Race’s deck of cards on the porch of the office while Specs read a book from his spot on the roof of the porch. Jack walked up the steps, setting his trunk on top of the others before climbing up the columns near the door to join Specs on the roof.

“Wanna tell me why we’re out here instead of in the office?” Jack asked as he kicked out his legs over the side of the roof. Specs huffed as he answered him, clearly annoyed. “Well, the new director was supposed to come by and open up the office an hour ago, but we’ve been waiting, and he still hasn’t showed.”

Jack was surprised at the answer. He knew that the camp was getting a new director after Skittery retired, but so far he wasn’t impressed with the new guy. Showing up late on the first day of camp? How were they supposed to set up the counselor’s schedules? The other guys seemed just as peeved.

Charlie, Race, Jack, and Mush were cabin heads. While the rest of the counselors changed cabins every session, they ran the same cabins all summer.

Charlie ran Oak Cabin, which contained the youngest of Birch Woods’s campers. He was good at entertaining the 6 and 7-year-olds and making sure they were ok when they got homesick or wet the bed. 

Race, on the other hand, was head of Pine Cabin because he was the only one who could keep up with the ever-active 8 and 9-year-old boys. Pine was right by the big field, so they often had flag football games to get the kids’ energy out.

Mush and Jack had the two oldest groups, Birch and Spruce respectively. The older kids were calmer and usually pretty good at taking care of themselves, so the two of them just had to make sure that the boys didn’t do anything crazy, since they were at the age where they were convinced that rules didn’t apply to them. It was mostly keeping them from sneaking out or using their phones.

Specs was the camp’s Head Counselor, so he was right under the director. Specs ran almost everything that went on in camp, while also doing classes and evening programs with the kids at the same time. With the change in directors and all that was happening outside of camp, he was stressed enough already. The lack of access to the office was not helping. At all. 

“Look guys,” Mush said after a few more games of speed. “From the looks of it, this new guy isn’t gonna show anytime soon, so let’s just try to figure what we can out here.” Specs hopped down from the roof to join the others on the floor of the porch. “Mush is right. Just because we don’t have the office doesn’t mean we can’t try and get some work done.”

Jack joined the group and pulled his sketchbook and a pencil from his bag. “I can write it all down in here.” The group nodded along as they tried to remember all of the names of the incoming counselors and what classes they were doing so they could assign them cabins.

By the time a white convertible pulled up to the office, they had gotten all the cabin assignments and the majority of the evening programs planned out. They were in the middle of planning the weekend trip when they noticed the man approaching the porch of the office. 

He was dressed far too nice to be at a summer camp in Jacks opinion, wearing a nice suit and tie with a set of brown loafers. Specs felt a little uncomfortable in his shorts and camp T-shirt next to the guy who he assumed to be the new director. 

“Hi, umm, I’m Specs, the Head Counselor here at camp, and you’re the new director, I guess?” Specs asked uncertainly, standing and offering his hand. The older man looked down at his hand before pulling out a ring of keys from his jacket and putting them in Specs outstretched hand. 

“My name is Mr. Pulitzer, and you are correct, I am your new Director. If I hear from you it better only be because of an emergency. All news is bad news, so I don’t ever expect to hear from you since you seem fully capable, Specs” he said the name as it gave him a bad taste in his mouth “I will see you at the end of the session for progress reports, so please don’t disappoint me.” He curtly turned and walked back to his car and drove away, leaving a cloud of dust behind him. 

Specs merely stood there, mouth ajar as he stared at the keys in his hand. Behind him Race scoffed. 

“What a prick.” 

Specs wanted to be upset but looking at the keys in his hand he was amazed. With a small gesture, Pulitzer pretty much promoted him. Only the director was supposed to have access to the entire camp, but with this, Specs had it all. 

“Ok guys let’s get this into the system” he said after a he got all his thoughts together. He turned from where he was standing and unlocked the door to the office, flipping on the light and AC as the group entered.

This summer was going to be different. He could feel it.

**Author's Note:**

> ok i'm gonna post this again cuz i deleted it the first time... i'm try really hard with this y'all, but words?? don't know 'em. if you liked it please give kudos and if you didn't, i'd love to know how to improve :)


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